According to The Numbers in The Numbers film page, The Dark Knight, the 2008 Batman sequel, earned $158,411,483 in its domestic opening weekend of July 18-20, 2008. According to Box Office Mojo in Box Office Mojo title page, it has earned $1,008,480,529 worldwide, with $534,987,076 domestic and $473,298,787 international.
Those lifetime figures include later re-releases. Treat opening as a measure of initial demand and lifetime worldwide as a measure of long-run reach. The sections below separate original records from later reissue growth.
Table of Contents
- How wide was the opening release?
- What records did the opening set?
- How did domestic earnings grow after opening?
- When did worldwide pass $1 billion?
How wide was the opening release?
According to The Numbers, Warner Bros. released the film wide in the U.S. on July 18, 2008.
It opened in a record 4,366 theaters, including 94 IMAX screens. That count measures breadth, not length of run. It shows how many locations could sell tickets on day one. IMAX, a large-format screen system, added extra capacity that contributed to the gross.
What records did the opening set?
According to ComingSoon.net in ComingSoon final tally report, the $158.4 million debut beat Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million May 2007 debut. It set the all-time domestic opening-weekend record at the time. The same report broke the weekend into daily and format records.
Midnight and Friday sales drove the pace, while IMAX set its own opener mark. Use the Spider-Man 3 comparison to gauge initial demand. Lifetime grosses tell a separate story about staying power.
- About $18.5 million from midnight shows, then a single-day record
- About $67.8 million on Friday, then a single-day record
- $6.2 million from IMAX, then an opener record
How did domestic earnings grow after opening?
According to Box Office Mojo, lifetime domestic earnings now stand at $534,987,076, or 53% of the worldwide total. That figure includes later re-releases.
The 53% domestic share shows strong home-market staying power. When comparing films, label this total as inclusive of re-releases.
When did worldwide pass $1 billion?
According to Dark Horizons reporting Variety and Warner Bros. in Dark Horizons $1 billion report, the film crossed $1 billion on Feb. 20, 2009. The confirmed total that day was $1,001,082,160.
It became only the fourth film then to do so, after Titanic, The Return of the King, and Dead Man's Chest. According to Box Office Mojo, the current worldwide total is $1,008,480,529, with $473,298,787 international. The Numbers lists $1,010,082,145 worldwide. According to The Numbers, the difference reflects 2009, 2012, 2018 and later reissues. Set those later totals against a $185 million production budget, and always date-stamp figures as inclusive of re-releases.